Adamo Amet
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Chapter no.42 Ino, Shikamaru and Choji
🕑 Added 2024-05-05 17:15:10 +0000 UTC"What in the world were you thinking?"
Ino cringed, the same question running through her mind at the moment. It was currently lunch period, and she had taken up her place beneath a tree, only to immediately find herself under the scrutiny of the one person in the class that she would have least expected.
Choji.
Yes, not Shikamaru, who sat across from her, his eyes still in their usual lazy demeanor, the person who was actually scrutinizing her decisions, asking her the hard-hitting questions and making her realize the error of her ways, was Choji.
"Well… I wasn't really… thinking?" she said meekly, which was somewhat understandable as Choji sat beside her, his normally round and cheerful face twisted into a narrow-eyed scowl.
His bag of chips lay in his hands, but they were unopened.
Really, Choji was a darling but no one really understood how terrifying the boy could be when he was taking something seriously.
"Yes, Ino, you weren't thinking." He said, shaking his head and making her shrink further as she turned to Shikamaru and sent him her best 'help me' look.
The pineapple-haired Nara turned his gaze away, pretending as though he had not seen her at all.
"Traitor!" she mouthed.
He looked as though he was going to mouth something back, before shaking his head as though he realized it would consume far more energy than he was willing to give, and instead, he resorted to another lazy shrug.
To her side, Choji sighed, his face looking far less intimidating as he began rubbing his cheek.
"Ino – you know you can't beat Sasuke in a spar right?"
She was the type of person who usually did not like being told whether or not they could or couldn't do things.
"Come on – I have a chance –"
"No."
Shikamaru said, placing his input for the first time in the conversation, and turning both of their attentions towards him.
"Sasuke might be the most arrogant person in the entire class, but most of it is well-deserved. He just might be the strongest Academy Student in Konoha, whereas, you occasionally struggle to defeat Sakura."
"Hey! Don't use Sakura as a measuring stick, you make it sound like she's…"
Choji's gaze looked over to her.
"Ino, I don't like admitting it either, but Sakura really does have the lowest taijutsu and shurikenjutsu performance in our grade, and you… well…"
He sighed.
"You…struggle to beat her. I don't see how you can go up against Sasuke and win."
Ino found herself biting her lower lip.
"Maybe – maybe he won't show up?"
Shikamaru shook his head.
"His pride won't allow it. Failing to show up could send the wrong message that he was too scared of you to fight you rather than you not being worth his time, and he'd never allow it."
She frowned.
"Then, what if I don't show up?"
Shikamaru and Choji glanced at her, and then glanced back at each other, silence resonating between the two boys before they turned back to her.
It was at that moment that Ino realized the weird strength of the dynamic that was possessed by the two boys, in which they seemed to understand each other without so much as saying a single word.
She was close to them, yes, that much was true, but a small part of her could not help but wish to have that same level of camaraderie that they had.
To have that same level of companionship with someone.
Choji was the one to begin.
"Ino, no one will easily forget the day you challenged Uchiha Sasuke to a spar and then chickened out."
That much was true.
She would not be able to carry her face held high ever again without being reminded of the moment, the day in which she had marched up to the seat of Uchiha Sasuke, frightening Inuzuka Kiba with a glare as her own gaze met with that of the Uchiha, and so brazenly challenged him.
Warmth rapidly seeped into her face and cheeks as she recalled the entire thing.
God, what in the world had she been thinking?
Why did she listen to Takaie of all people? She didn't even know who he was.
That was a question that Choji also seemed interesting in discovering the answer to. "Really Ino, what were you thinking? I mean… you've never done anything like that. Ever."
She bit her lip.
"I – I was just angry! And annoyed! And maybe the lack of sleep played a part but –"
She groaned as she ran her hands through her hair.
"I just wanted Sasuke to look at them, at us, at any of us! To pay the girls who fawn over him at least some attention!"
Shikamaru and Choji remained silent.
"I mean, we can be annoying sometimes, and pushy, and thoughtless, but we do care about him. Sakura cares about him. Yet, I wonder if he even knows her name."
Silence wafted amongst the three friends, the only audible sound being Choji's rummaging of a bag and crunching of chips, as their small group could still hear the buzzing and chatter amongst the students, because there were numerous mixed feelings about her challenge to Sasuke.
"Troublesome."
Again, Shikamaru managed to convey her thoughts exactly in one word.
Still, she looked over to the boy, and realized that he was even usually more invested in her life than usual.
He was alert, listening, watching, his eyes weren't half-lidded, and his form and posture wasn't slouched and lazy.
This was the most she had ever seen Shikamaru interested or focused at something.
He caught her gaze, and his eyebrow rose. "What?"
"Nothing – I'm just… surprised. Glad I guess… I mean you rarely ever pay attention to anything… so…"
He rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"If you get beat up by Sasuke, your dad would find out and he won't be happy. He'd complain about it to my dad, and my dad would mention it to my mum, and I'd be the one chewed out for standing by and letting it happen."
Her left eye twitched.
"Of course... once a lazy bum, always a lazy bum. Just when I thought you cared…"
"I do care. I don't want you to get beat up."
She tilted her head.
"Really?"
"If you get beat up, you'd be sore and grumpy, and considering I'm the one who seats next to you in class… that would be really troublesome."
More irritation flowed through her form as her eye continued twitching, a tick mark appearing on her forehead.
"Shikamaru doesn't mean it, Ino. He really just doesn't want you to get hurt."
Ino sighed. Leave it to Choji to abate her anger with a few choice words.
"Thanks guys, but you make it sound like I don't stand a chance against him – but, I'm a lot better than I look. I have a plan."
"No."
They both said at the exact same time, causing her to flinch back in surprise.
"Y-you didn't even listen to what it was!"
"Um Ino, the last time you had a plan, it ended with you looking for Naruto all over Konoha, and getting angry that you couldn't find him."
Her mouth opened, and then it closed with a dry clack.
"Trust me, this – this is totally different. It'll be different this time."
For whatever reason, the two of them gave her looks that showed clear disbelief, and a little bit of apprehension. Still, Yamanaka Ino was certain, that her plan would work.
What was the worst thing that could –
She stopped that train of thought immediately.
There was no way she was going to jinx it.
Nuh huh.
Not a chance.
She already had terrible odds enough, no need to stack fate on top of that.
_______________________________________
[ Training Ground 5 ]
Hinata, lost in her daydreams beside the pond, couldn't help but blush and giggle at the thought of Naruto in his underwear.
Her private amusement was abruptly interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Hello there, Hinata," Tenten announced, suddenly appearing behind her with a knowing grin.
"Hello," Hinata managed, her embarrassment evident. She wished the ground would swallow her up, especially upon seeing Tenten's amused expression. How long had she been standing there?
"So, where is Naruto with his orange undies?" Tenten teased, leaning in with a playful nudge.
Hinata's blush deepened, a clear giveaway that Tenten had overheard her mumbles for the past hour.
"I don't know," she stammered, wishing she could disappear.
"Well, today he is going to learn water walking. You know it, right?" Tenten continued, undeterred by Hinata's discomfort.
"Yeah," Hinata whispered, her voice barely audible.
"So, what did you bring to show off to Naruto?" Tenten jibed, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
"What?" Hinata's voice was a mix of panic and confusion.
Sighing, Tenten shook her head.
"I thought with the water training, you might want to wear a swimsuit to catch Naruto-kun's attention."
The mere suggestion had Hinata looking like she might faint on the spot.
"Don't worry, I'm kidding," Tenten reassured her, though the damage was already done.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Tenten changed the subject.
"Hey, I'm curious, does the Hyuga Clan use weapons?"
"A-ah, shurikens and..." Hinata began tentatively.
"No, no, I meant like specific weapons, like the Uchiha used to use the gunbai. What about the Hyuga?" Tenten probed further.
"The Hyuga clan mostly relies on our Taijutsu," Hinata explained, her voice steadier now.
"Seems like a waste. I'm sure the Gentle Fist would go great with a weapon like Neko Te," Tenten mused aloud.
"D-Do you think so?"
"Of course, think about it. Gentle Fist but the fingers have metal claws that can channel chakra. Seems dangerous to me," Tenten suggested, her imagination clearly running wild.
Hinata gulped, curiosity piqued.
"C-Can we try it?"
Tenten's grin widened as she unfurled her scroll.
"Choose whatever color you want."
_______________________________________
[ Author Note: 
What is Neko-te?
Often referred to as "cat claws," these were weapons that consisted of sharp metal spikes worn on the fingers.
Craftsmanship:
Neko-te were typically made from iron or steel and designed to fit over the fingertips, turning the wearer's hands into lethal tools.
Usage:
Primarily used by kunoichi (female ninjas) for scratching and slicing at an enemy's exposed skin.
Role in Battle:
Not commonly used in large, open battles but perfect for assassination and surprise attacks, especially in close quarters.
Fun Fact:
Legends say that kunoichi might have coated the blades with poisons to ensure that even a glancing scratch could be lethal.
....
Okay, so the trivia portion of the author note is out of the way.
Why did I plan to have Hinata be upgraded via the Neko Te?
Think about it: Gentle Fist + Byakugan + Neko Te.
Hinata can channel wind chakra into the Neko Te, and the moment she lands a hit on someone, the enemy won't have their chakra shut down, no, the enemy would have a finger-sized hole inside their body. Somehow, if they can survive, that enemy will never be able to use chakra again because Hinata literally punched a hole into their chakra network.
Even before the wind chakra, just Hinata channeling chakra into a metal claw to pierce an enemy would do a lot of damage to the enemy's body.
How do you like Hinata's upgrade?
Tell me your thoughts on this upgrade in the comments below. ]
Comments
Michel Smith
I look forward to it
Muhammad Hasnain
Don't worry, I am going to use this idea in this fanfic, you can count on it. When do I have in mind Naruto using his mind's eye and bow and arrow, you'll see. Hahahaha. Ominous music plays.
Michel Smith
Well your welcome to use this idea anytime if you decide to write a new naruto fanfiction in the future hell you could give naruto a juiced up version of Karin’s mind eye of kagura technique and have naruto use the bow instead of a hyuga it would be just as if not even more effective especially if naruto could somehow further boost the mind eye of kagura with senjutsu making him even better than a byakugan wielding hyuga
Muhammad Hasnain
Very detailed and awesome suggestion but I wanted to highlight the gentle fist and make Hinata have a unique take on it hence the Neko Te, like she is going to be punching holes into her enemies, your suggestion was amazing but I guess we had different visions for the character. You wanted Hinata to be more unique and special while I wanted to have Hinata stand out with an addition to her current arsenal that is expanded on due to her connections to her friends like Tenten.
Michel Smith
I think the best weapon for a hyuga is a bow and arrow . Imagine a bow and arrow made from special materials are both flexible and extremely hard to break while also chakra conductive. This bow would be able to handle thousands of pound force in draw wight (the world record for max bow draw weight is 200 pounds but this world has chakra and its fiction so meh) making it possible for the arrows to travel at astronomical speed far surpassing modern snipers (of course a hyuga would have to do a lot of strength training and chakra control to be able to draw a bow that can handle that much pound force) combine that with the arrows that are made with the same chakra conductive super material the bow is made out of and you can channel elemental chakra into those arrows making them even more deadlier ( an arrow with lightning chakra infused into it could penetrate rocks trees walls and even metal, wind infused arrows can add spins and change trajectory mid flight, fire can add burning damage and explosive power and keep in mind all this is only adding to the already terrifying power of an arrow flying at speeds faster than a bullet fired from the strongest sniper in the world) add to the fact that hyugas with their byakugan that can see through objects and at hundreds of km in distance would make them the most terrifying snipers in the entire elemental nations like seriously you could be an enemy ninja and suddenly get shot in the head by a lightning arrow from 800km away going at speeds that would be impossible to track you would be dead before you know what hit you. This would make hinata’s enemies rather take their chances with fighter her a hyuga in close combat than letting her fight at a distance. Now let’s take all that and then add naruto into the equation, once he gets better at fuinjutsu he could help hinata in multiple ways like adding seals to arrows that make them invisible by bending light around them as well as seals that mute all sound around the arrow making it impossible for an enemy to detect, hear or see the super sonic lightning arrow coming at them from km away. Or Summoning seals on the arrows that connect to the seal on the bow giving hinata the ability to summon back the arrows she uses after firing them (since the arrows would be made out of this super expensive rare strong flexible chakra conductive material she wouldn’t have a tot of them so she has to keep reusing the ones she has) or seals on arrows that give them special effects like a smoke screen or a flash bang or a regular old explosive tag. Combine that with hinata’s own version of gentle fist the she makes in canon making her an extremely challenging opponent in close combat for those who aren’t S- class and that would make her an absolute beast on the battlefield. Of course all this would require a large chakra reserves and lots of strength training and find tuned chakra control and a lot of stamina training too as well as stealth training and learning how to quickly scope a battle field and pick a good sniping spot all of these things hinata would need to work on to get to this level but if she does accomplish this, hinata’s can easily be the most powerful hyuga in history ( Hamura and tonori on the moon don’t count since they are technically outsutski not hyuga) and can easily be the first S-class hyuga shinobi in history). And the best thing about it is that this would be unique to hinata since the materials that she needs to make this special bow and arrows don’t exist in the EN so she could only get through Naruto’s system though she wouldn’t know that so she would only assume naruto somehow found this material (maybe call it adamantium or something🤷♂️)
